How to save money on your home energy use. Seventeen energy-saving steps that green your home

(photo compliments of laundry.co.uk)

Saving money on energy and home bills and conserving energy and the environment are the same thing. You want lower bills, everyone needs greener air. Win-win!

Check out a few tips for how to save your wallet and the planet:

1. Cuddle up at night. Lower your heat at night to save. Pile on the blankets, cuddle up, and remember to wear socks. Keeping your feet warm at night helps you fall asleep faster.

Thirteen auto tips for saving gas and lowering car repair costs

(photo compliments of black-and-right.com)

Everyone knows the cost of gas. Everyone complains about the cost of gas. Chances are, if you are drawing a blank on small-talk topics, gas prices will be popular.

So how do you take care of your car and drive to maximize your miles-per-gallon (mpg)?

1. Get the lead out–of your trunk. Your car’s trunk is a handy place to store all sorts of things–car stuff, sports stuff, that return-bound bag of cement you never used for that fencepost project. Whatever it is, it adds up, and every one hundred pounds removed can improve fuel economy by 2 percent, according to a Federal Trade Commission report.
2. Walk! Park your car and get some exercise. The best way to stretch your gas money is to leave your car parked and walk instead. It is rumored that short trips of 1 mile or less are the number-one reason for most American car trips. And, according to the Web site www.walkscore.com, a study in Washington State found that the average resident of a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood weighs seven pounds less than someone who lives in a sprawling neighborhood. | So next time you think about climbing in your car to drive somewhere nearby, stop and think–can I walk there? Can I ride my bike? The life (and the money) you save may be your own.

Garden: the easiest way your family can save money, eat healthier, help the environment

(photo compliments of wayetlighting.wordpress.com)

If you have a yard, start a garden. The financial benefits of gardening are extensive, the health benefits are obvious, and the environmental benefits are substantial. You don’t need a huge garden, and your family can help out and bond through the care of it.

Here’s a list of ways to maximize the benefits of gardening in your life:

1. Make your own fertilizer. Get in the habit of composting your vegetable and garden scraps. You will do something nice for the planet, put less into the waste stream, and get free fertilizer for your garden in the process! You can find information on building your own compost bin at www.bluegrassgardens.com.
2. Plant a money garden. With an eye towards increased interest in vegetable gardening, the Burpee Seed Company has developed a “Money Garden” seed packet. Six different kinds of vegetables are included for $10. The company says the plants will produce $650 dollars worth of produce.

Make 8 of your own natural cleaning products to save money and get green

(photo compliments of inhabitat.com)

The following advice will help me:

• save money?
• use natural products in my home?
• eliminate toxins from my life?
• be green and environmentally conscious?

Sold!

I wanted to share them with you:

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Television is evil and it’s rotting your brain

(photo compliments of civin.org)

I stand firm for a movement against screen-run lives. Technology is taking over my life.

In my goals, I noted that “tv=evil.” Let’s extend that to all screens: phones, video games, computers, tablets, iPods. (Yes, I understand the irony of blogging this information.)

Reasons to war against excessive media use:

• You sleep best when it’s dark, don’t you? Who needs to mess with an already erratic sleep schedule by staring at a bright light after sunset?
• Ever noticed that when someone’s eyes are glued to a screen, it’s challenging to call them into the real world? It’s annoying and rude. Let’s not be those people.

Goal: Stop being a big ball of flab and get healthy

This list serves as a reminder and inspiration. It was created during a late-night brainstorming session.

What have I been up to?

Very recently, the answer would be: feeling like a lazy lump of blubber.

I usually focus on how society and other people should change, but let’s be honest: I need to start with myself. (No, this does not mean that you are off the hook.)

What does this list mean to you?

I’ll be posting about healthy eating habits, roundabout methods of getting my butt out of bed/the couch/the chair, ways to shop efficiently for all of the above, and sources where I find supporting information.

How is this pertinent to the blog’s theme of social responsibility?

Natural resources are wasted by thoughtless companies. I thought going green was a trend now.

Yesterday, I received a sample of Head & Shoulders shampoo with a little pamphlet about the ways the shampoo helps to eliminate dandruff. It’s great that companies offer free samples of their products. I like to take the samples when I travel instead of buying tons of miniature bottles.

But tell me why this gargantuan box had to be used to hold one measly pamphlet? The pamphlet itself could have simply been sealed on one side with an address printed on the other. It didn’t even need an envelope, much less a BOX.

Does it frustrate anyone else that thousands (tens of thousands?) of these were distributed, each wasting a whole box made of paper for each? Ridiculous.

And I know I’m kidding myself when I hope that each recipient recycles it. I just have to shake my head and sigh.